200 more Mantecans find jobs

Two hundred more Manteca residents were working in April than in the previous month.Manteca’s unemployment rate dipped to 13.6 percent in April from a post World War II high of 14.4 percent in March.That means one out of roughly every seven in the adult workforce or 3,900 people in Manteca are unemployed. It is a lower jobless rate than bothMarch at 14.4 percent as well as in February when it was at 13.8 percent in Manteca.

Typically during strong economic times Manteca’s employment rate runs between 5 and 8 percent due to fluctuations in seasonal employment primarily in the farming sector

State employment experts credit much of the drop in Manteca and the rest of San Joaquin County primarily to seasonably agricultural related jobs ranging from on the farm to trucking to processing. Of the 1,300 additional jobs countywide 800 were in the farming sector while 400 were in government, 200 in leisure and hospitality and 100 in professional and business services. The education and health services as well as transportation, trade and utilities both shrunk 100 jobs to come to the net gain of 1,300 jobs.

Job growth within San Joaquin County doesn’t attribute for all new employment since many find work in other counties such as the Bay Area

San Joaquin County’s unemployment rate is now at 15.6 percent, down from 16.4 percent in March but up 6.1 percent compared to a year ago.San Joaquin has a lower unemployment rate than the three-county Northern San Joaquin Valley area due to its commute distance to Bay Area jobs. Stanislaus County is at 16.8 percent and Merced County is at 18.3 percent.

California’s jobless rate dropped from 11.2 percent in March to 11 percent in April. Nationally, unemployment continues to rise going from 8.5 percent in March to 8.9 percent in April.

In San Joaquin County, the construction trades remained steady at 9,700 jobs. In the past year, 1,900 jobs had been lost in construction due primarily to the housing slowdown.

The other year-to-year big losers in the county were trade, transportation and utilities with 1,100 jobs lost, leisure and hospitality down 600 jobs, and financial activities down 500. Two of the three remained steady in April while leisure and hospitality restored 200 jobs.

Year-to-year gains were recorded in manufacturing with 300 more jobs, professional and business services with 300 more jobs and government with 100 more jobs.

The July figures are expected to show significant job losses in Manteca’s government sector with at least 120 jobs being shed. That includes almost 20 municipal positions being left vacant through retirement and upwards of 100 teaching and other public schools jobs where formal lay-off notices are anticipated due to the state budget crisis.